My First Thanksgiving as a College Student

After a short, stressful week filled with tests and a midterm, I finally took that momentous five-minute drive to my house. Although my arrival home was most likely not as dramatic as my friend’s, who flew home to Seattle for the first time since she arrived at Emory, I was still overjoyed to see my family, visit with old friends, and sleep in my own bed. I woke up Thursday morning under my warm comforter to the smell of pancakes. I got up and enjoyed my first homemade breakfast with my family since fall break. They told me that we would be spending Thanksgiving dinner with my best friend’s family.

My mom, dad, sister and I spent most of the morning cooking for the grand meal we would experience later in the day. My dad cooked four of his famous homemade pies, my mom made her delicious stuffing, and my sister and I assisted wherever was needed. First, we decided to learn the art of preparing piecrusts from scratch from my dad. My sister and I mixed together flour, shortening, and salt to form a ball of dough and then lathered it with ice water. We rolled the dough out and carefully placed it into each pie plate. Finally, we added the filling to each one. About five hours later, four pies sat on the kitchen table: an apple, a pumpkin, a lemon meringue, and a chocolate. My mom added the final touches to the stuffing, my dad cooked some broccoli and corn, and we loaded up the car to go to my friend’s house.

After a careful drive down the street, my friend’s welcoming family and the smell of turkey in the oven greeted us. We were then introduced to one of their family friends who would be joining us for dinner. She was from China and cooked homemade dumplings for us to eat as an appetizer. She made three different types: pork with corn, pork with green beans, and pork with Chinese vegetables. She paired them with a dipping sauce and we enjoyed delicious, fresh dumplings. When we finished eating the appetizer, we played a game of Clue until dinner was ready.

As we tried to solve a murder mystery, the smell of Thanksgiving dinner filled the room. There was an aroma containing the smells of turkey, fresh vegetables, ham, and stuffing. My mom came around and asked what we wanted to drink with dinner, which signaled that it was time to eat. A colorful buffet was set up along the counter. I grabbed a plate and began to fill it with everything on the counter: turkey, ham, broccoli, corn, stuffing, bread, green beans, mashed potatoes, and I even put some brussel sprouts on my plate. The room silenced as we all stuffed our faces with food. As I neared the end of my plate, all the food seemed to mix together to make one flavor-filled last bite. It contained the creamy potatoes, fresh vegetables, seasoned turkey, juicy ham, and savory stuffing. As I entered the highly anticipated food coma, I walked to the couch to lie down.

Everyone eventually joined me and we spent about an hour talking. Finally, my sister mentioned the pies that sat on the counter glowing under the light. We finished the night playing board games and trying all the different pies. I went to bed that night with the taste of tangy lemon meringue pie, creamy chocolate mousse pie, zesty pumpkin pie, and sweet apple pie lingering in my mouth.

The “Ugly Duckling” Dish

I can smell it when I am upstairs doing homework, I see it almost every Sunday on the dinner table, and it always looks just as nasty as the week before. It sits in the glass pie plate, covered with different colored cheeses, and filled with an array of vegetables. This dish is known as vegetable quiche; it is the centerpiece to the one meal in which it is assured that our entire family is present for during the week, despite our chaotic lives.

Although throughout by high school career I rarely had the time to help my mom prepare the quiche on Sunday, I still remember the quite lengthy process of making it. It always begins with a grocery store adventure. We start in the bakery section, gathering a fresh baguette to accent the quiche and then wander to the produce section for the majority of the ingredients. We collect onions, tomatoes, eggplant, squash, and zucchini along with the fixings for a salad to accompany our meal. After making a quick run to get Parmesan and mozzarella cheese, we head to the check out line.

Once back in the kitchen, the vegetables are laid out on cutting boards and we get sharp knives. We spend approximately thirty minutes chopping and dicing all the produce. After it is all chopped, a rainbow array, from the red tomatoes to the purple eggplant, of vegetables line the kitchen counter. However, this beautiful sight does not last long.

My mom then finds the biggest pot we own, turns on the stove, puts in onions, and watches them sizzle. The vegetables are then added and continually stirred for roughly forty-five minutes. While someone mans the stove, my mom mixes eggs, milk, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheese in a large bowl. As the end of the hour approaches, the vegetables mix into what appears to the eye as “dark brown, lumpy mush.” The dairy and eggs are then added to the large pot to change the color of the vegetable “mush” to light brown.

The final step is to add the mixture to a glass pie pan, sprinkle some extra Parmesan cheese on top, and place the dish in the oven for an hour. The smell of fresh vegetables and cheese fills all the rooms throughout our house. As the hour nears, we set the table, fix the salad, and toast the bread. Our family gathers around the kitchen and the steaming hot quiche is placed in the center of the table.

As it sits on the table, we know that the cheesy top layer of the quiche only disguises the brown “mushy” layer underneath. My mom cuts the pieces and places them on our plates. The quiche slowly deforms as the mixture of vegetables oozes around the plate. Despite the ugly appearance, the freshness of the various vegetables combined with the light, fluffy cheesy covering makes for a delicious bite. After an hour of conversing and eating, my family has consumed at least two-thirds of the quiche. The following day it is a fight for the leftovers.

I think of quiche as an “ugly duckling” because the dish appears very unattractive, yet it contains the most beautiful combination of flavors. I look forward to not only eating it, but also spending the time with my family. I am excited to go home for winter break and eat many helpings of vegetable quiche.

The Seven-Layer Cookie

Cookies come in all different shapes and sizes. Everyone has a favorite cookie whether its peanut butter, chocolate chip, or oatmeal raisin. Familial recipes used to bake these particular cookies usually date back to past generations. When I was eight years old, my mom first introduced me to her grandmother’s seven-layer cookies.

Ten years ago, my third grade teacher announced that our class was going to have a bake sale for the Atlanta Humane Society and that everyone needed to bring some baked good. I rushed home excited to start baking with my mom and sister. I was all prepared to make chocolate chip cookies when my mom suggested that we try something different: seven-layer cookies. I was in awe and began contemplating how one cookie could have seven layers. My mom said we needed to go on a grocery store run in order to make them. We all piled into the car and drove to the nearest Publix.

My mom started going through the aisles with the cart. She picked up a box of graham cracker crumbs and butter, bags of chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, and pecans along with a jar of sweetened condensed milk. When we got home we laid all of the ingredients out on the counter and my mom asked me to count and make sure we had seven ingredients, sure enough we did, so we started baking.

My sister and I began to sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs along the bottom of the pan, while my mom melted a tablespoon of butter in the microwave. Then we mixed the graham cracker crumbs and butter together to create a solid base for the cookie. Next, my sister and I added the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips to the pan. Followed by the addition of the coconut and pecans. The final step, and most difficult step, required my mom to pour the jar of sweetened condensed milk evenly over the coconut and pecans. After that, we placed the pan in the oven heated to 350 degrees.

Forty-five minutes later the base hardened, the sweetened condensed milk melted over the top of the cookie, and the tips of the coconut browned. We divided the pan up into about twenty-five cookies. When we took them out of the pan, we could see all seven layers of the cookies. We placed them in Ziploc bags and I brought them to school the next day for the bake sale, at which they were sold immediately. However, before we gave them all away my sister and I each got to try a cookie. It was delicious. The combination of flavors and textures made the perfect cookie; the crusty graham cracker layer complimented the gooey top layer along with the crunchy nuts and chocolate chips.

Years later when I attempted to make seven-layer cookies by myself, I realized that there was no written down recipe. My mom simply added the ingredients without thinking. When I asked her how much of this or that to put onto the pan, I received answers like: “a hand full” or “until the graham cracker crumbs are covered.” She taught me that baking is not always about the precise measurements. Rather, it is about improvisation and experimentation with different ingredients in order to create a dessert that is sweet and delicious.

Seven-layer cookies have become a signature dessert in my life. I will always remember the first time I made them with my mom and sister. Now, my family makes these cookies for holidays, parties, and even just for fun. They are delicious, quick and easy cookies to make. I recently discovered that the staff at the Dobbs University Center, here on Emory’s campus, occasionally makes seven-layer cookies for students to enjoy. Although they do not taste like the ones my mom makes, they are a nice reminder of home.

photo by: treataweek.blogspot.com

A True Italian Experience

Whether from a Pizza Hut or a small restaurant in Italy, pizza is eaten across the world. It can be made with thick crusts, thin crusts, pepperoni, vegetables, and much more. Regardless of the abundance of pizza places, everyone has a favorite. Last year I discovered the best pizzeria in Atlanta, Antico.

During my freshman year of high school, my best friend’s family installed a pizza oven in their house and they began cooking homemade pizza. Her dad quickly became the expert pizza maker: perfecting the crust, combining delicious toppings, and even cooking a s’mores pizza. After one of our weekly basketball games, he suggested that the team go to a new pizza place near Georgia Tech called Antico. Trusting his pizza expertise, four of my teammates and our families crammed in the car and drove to 1093 Hemphill Avenue.

We drove up to a small building with limited parking at about nine o’clock that night. I stepped out of the car and immediately smelled fresh pizza dough coming from inside the restaurant. Once everyone parked, we all walked through the doors. I felt as though I was entering a pizzeria in Italy; it was filled with noise, native Italians, and an aroma of pizza and wine. The restaurant was arranged in a family style with large tables surrounded by multiple people. We walked to the cashier and began looking at menus. We soon discovered that they were written entirely in Italian, so we decided to try different pizzas. The pizza they make originates from Naples, Italy. My family ordered the Margherita and Marinara, as we were advised that two pizzas were sufficient for a family of four. After I placed my order, I walked through the restaurant with my friends.

We discovered that there was a large warehouse in the back with long, rectangular tables completely filled with customers. In the warehouse, there were large bags of flour and chefs tossing pizza dough for, we assumed, hours on end. We discovered that the restaurant stays open until they run out of dough. All fourteen of us eventually found space at a table near the front. Within about twenty minutes, our number was called and my dad returned with two large pizzas.

The first was the Margherita, which had tomato, basil, and garlic on top of a cheese pizza. Then he brought the Marinara, which is topped with san marzano, garlic, origano, romano, and white anchovy. The pizzas were, as you would say in Italian, meraviglioso! The crust, cooked to perfection, was the ideal medium between thick and thin. The cheese lightly covered the whole pizza and melted in my mouth. The toppings added flavor to each piece with juicy tomatoes, fresh basil, and perfectly salted anchovies. By the end, napkins and crumbs were all that remained on the table. Satisfied and full, we climbed back into our cars and drove home, continuing to discuss the amazing pizza place, Antico.

So if you are looking for a good time with some friends and family, a cultural experience, and willing to pay about twenty dollars, Antico is the place for you. Antico is undoubtedly my favorite pizza place in the Atlanta area. Although they do not deliver, you can order pizza online and go pick it up.

For more information visit: www.anticopizza.it

*Photographs from (respectively): anticopizza.it, theroadforks.com

Is It Worth the Wait?

Despite limited hours and wait times averaging about thirty minutes, something about Taqueria del Sol continues to attract customers. In Decatur, lines often wrap around and extend all the way to West Ponce De Leon Avenue. The limiting hours also contribute to the long wait; Taqueria is open Tuesday to Thursday (11:00am to 2:00pm and then 5:30pm to 9:00pm) and Friday to Saturday (12:00pm to 2:00pm and then 5:30pm to 10:00pm). It is not open on Sunday or Monday. Regardless of these obstacles, Taqueria remains a hot spot for people of all ages.

While in line, families and friends talk, laugh, play soccer in the parking lot, and make friends with those around them. Once inside, you can watch live sports games on one of their many televisions. You will also find many adults drinking jugs of margaritas. This combination can make for a very quick thirty minutes. Once one sits down at a table, the food is delivered within minutes. Speaking of food, what does Taqueria offer?

At Taqueria del Sol one can get light, flavorful Mexican food for cheap. It offers five signature tacos along with enchiladas, soups, specials and more. A favorite among many, including myself, is the fish taco. With two pieces of Tilapia, jalapeños, and a zesty poblano tartar sauce, it is simply irresistible. Another favorite is the fried chicken taco containing chicken, lettuce, tomato, and a sizzling lime jalapeños mayonnaise. All tacos cost about $2.50. Although I have never tried the enchiladas, I would recommend ordering two tacos and sharing a cheese dip with some friends for a satisfying meal at Taqueria.

The cheese dip is incredible: light, slightly spicy and only about $3.00. It is hard to resist. If you are not into cheese don’t fear the salsa trio is just as delicious. There are three types of salsa that all contain varying levels of spiciness. Given this wide variety, you are sure to find a salsa that satisfies your taste buds. I have also heard their margaritas are delicious, but being under 21 and all, I do not know about them from personal experience.

Taqueria provides a perfect atmosphere for going out with your friends, eating with family, or going on a date. It primarily has outdoor seating, perfect for a nice, sunny day in Atlanta. If it is unbearably hot outside, which it often is during the summers in Atlanta, they turn on fans to help cool down the customers. You may be wondering how one eats at Taqueria in the winter; they have heaters hanging outside and with the hot, quickly served food one will definitely stay warm. They do provide limited indoor seating along with a bar.

So if you are looking for time to socialize with your friends, eating delicious food, and spending little money then Taqueria del Sol is well worth the wait. Also if you are like me, and love frozen yogurt, Yogurt Tap is about a five- minute walk from the Taqueria del Sol in Decatur.

For more information visit: Taqueria del Sol

*photographs from (respectively): facebook.com, metro.atlantamix.com